Show and Tell

Fridays are show-and-tell days at Ethan's school... those mornings can be a struggle when I'm running behind schedule and Ethan wants to intensely contemplate on what to bring.

Back when Mike was still in DC, Ethan usually brought something that reminded him of Daddy to show to his friends. A photo, a signed baseball Mike sent in the mail. These days, it's all about what spanking new toy he can show off.

I guess that is the essence of "show"-and tell, isn't it?

Thanks to Grandma... last week's show-and-tell subject was a hit with Ethan's friends. It was such a hit, in fact, that Ethan wants to bring the same thing this Friday.

(I'm not complaining!)

It's actually a pretty fun game! Ethan often wins, but I think it has something to do with a little cheating (when he has to draw an animal from the barn -- he scopes out the color/animal he needs and then pretends to close his eyes before "randomly" fishing for the perfect one).

But it's ok..... we love hearing Ethan yell "UNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! YESSSSSSSSSS!"


I can tell you all about this game and even tried to get our own video, but to show you more specific detail, I wanted to share the commercial of UNO Moo so that you can get the idea of how much fun this game is.

SILLY SKUNK!

A Very Late Halloween Recap

Halloween came and went... and in a lot of ways, I had expected it to be just another Halloween, but we try to do something different every year to make it a little more memorable than the year before.

Okay, before anything else. I have to disclose that there's not a lot of thought when it comes to me picking Ethan's costumes every Halloween. They have been typically whatever I was able to get on sale the year before (I've been lucky so far to predict the right size). He's still at a very convincing stage, but I'm sure my luck will be running out pretty soon. I have a feeling he's going to want to pick next year's costume....

So anyway, I got this Dash costume from a yard sale a year ago for $3. It was missing the mask, but I was able to borrow that from a friend. It was easy convincing Ethan to want to be a superhero....

That Friday before Halloween, we took Ethan to a "Trunk or Treat" event at a local church.... which, I have to admit, sounded a little weird at first. Our expectations were TOTALLY blown away. First of all, there weren't just a dozen cars parked in the church parking lot handing out candy. There were hundreds. Each "trunk" decorated more elaborate than the other. Cute. Freaky. Weird. Absolutely non-Halloween related (trucks decorated in Dodger gear). After the 50th car, I think Ethan started to get bored. But that wasn't the end of it. They had jumpers and games and food stands and a make shift skate park, fire trucks, police cars and even Navy helicopters for the kids the explore and play pretend. 3 hours later, we were pooped and retired to my mom's house for dinner. My only regret is not dressing up with Ethan. I think I was more excited to see a family dressed up as The Incredibles, as I run to get a photo op with Ethan. I would've totally dressed up as Elastigirl, but not sure if I would've gotten some resistance from Mike with wearing tights as Mr. Incredible. :)

Halloween eve: it was our first Halloween in our new home, so we were excited to see how many kids would come around for trick or treating. There were quite a few houses who had decorated with their typical pumpkins, spider webs and corpses hanging by their necks...... and for the most part, most of the houses participated and handed out candy. Mike and I dressed up as Fred and Wilma Flintstone and set out to get more candy... as if we didn't have enough already. Everyone kept asking why we didn't dress Ethan up as BamBam (which believe me, I thought about) until Mike crushed my dreams and made sure I knew that BamBam was, in fact, Betty and Barney Rubble's kid -- while Fred and Wilma had Pebbles. Mike was NOT about to let me dress Ethan as Pebbles.....

Next year, I'd like to have matching costumes for all of us, maybe even including Bella. Hmmmm...... maybe the Wizard of Oz? Ethan can be the Tinman, I'll be Dorothy of course, and Mike can be the Lion without a Heart..... hehe

I got time.

Today, we say THANKS on Veterans Day

Here's a link to a list I've compiled in a forum of various FREEBIES going on in honor of Veterans Day

[link] Consolidated List/HUGE Collection: VETERANs Day FREE Meals / Deals / Discounts

SICK!

I've been meaning to post photos from our busy Halloween weekend but we've been hit (and hit hard) with the stupid bug.... so all my energy is directed keeping my head from exploding.

Ethan started coughing about 3 weeks ago. Then Mike started coughing a week ago. And yesterday, I suddenly felt it.

Misery loves company.

I must be looking like a drag, my boss actually sent me home early today. And our president kept coming by to check my temperature... and insisting I should go home... he's a sweet man. I was a trooper today and decided to stick around, although my constant hacking is probably getting a lot of people nervous around me and wish I would just take the damn sick day and quit infecting everyone.

Then I get a call from Mike today that his boss is sending him home... but not before he gets checked out by a doctor to rule out H1N1. After several hours at the VA, they say he has Influenza B, sent him packing with a slew of prescriptions and told him he has to stay home for a week.

Great.

Ethan had an appointment this afternoon with his new pediatrician (we didn't like his old one) and was sent home with an inhaler. When he was one, his pediatricians then told us he has "asthmatic tendencies" but was too young to be diagnosed. Every year since then, he gets the same, recurring croupy cough. I don't know for sure if this new doctor diagnosed him with asthma, but I'll be calling her tomorrow to get a better idea.

For now, we're all sick as a dog and we can only hope for a faster recovery. I feel like curling up in bed right about now.....